John Battiston

Business, law enforcement and public safety leaders gathered Monday to honor acts of local heroism — including multiple mental health crisis interventions — at the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce's 36th Annual Valor Awards at The National Conference Center in Leesburg. More than 80 career and volunteer public servants and civilians received accolades for their involvement in selfless, sometimes lifesaving acts of service, most of which occurred during 2020.

Having studied economics in college and currently working as a software engineer, Aldie's Cullen Shannon might not seem like the type to write hard science-fiction novels. But through two years of hard work, determination and multi-talented creativity, Shannon — under the pen name Avery Dox — penned and self-published a trilogy called "The Schema." The author grew up in Fairfax County and graduated from George Mason University, and has now lived in Loudoun County for more than a decade.

Dr. David Goodfriend, director of the Loudoun County Health Department (LCHD) on Friday said unvaccinated county residents should get their shot in the arm to protect them from the rapidly spreading delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. "The virus is staging a comeback," Goodfriend told the Times-Mirror. "Vaccination is highly effective against the delta variant [and] extremely effective against serious infection with the delta variant or other variants," he said.